Ordinariate’s Vicar for Clergy Named: Fr Charles Hough III
July 13, 2012 7 Comments
Reverend Charles Hough, III, has been named the Vicar for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations for the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
Father Hough was ordained a Catholic priest on June 30, 2012 after serving as an Episcopal priest for 31 years, including 18 years as Canon to the Ordinary of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. Since September 2011, he has led the St. John Vianney Catholic Ordinariate Community in Cleburne, Texas, a position he will continue to hold.
As Vicar for Clergy, Fr. Hough will be responsible for personnel matters and continuing formation for the Ordinariate’s clergy, will serve as the liaison for religious of the Ordinariate or providing ministry for the Ordinariate, and will assist those seeking vocations to the priesthood, permanent diaconate or religious life.
Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, Ordinary for the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, said, “With 30 ordinations to the priesthood this summer and 30 additional men in formation, Fr. Hough is taking on a great responsibility. I am grateful for his willingness to use his gifts to further the growth of the Lord’s Kingdom in our midst, and am confident in his ability to form our clergy as we lay a solid foundation for the future of the Ordinariate.”
Fr. Hough noted, “I was certainly honored when Msgr. Steenson asked me to be the Vicar for Clergy. I hope to be of service to him in this new role and to utilize the experience I had over 18 years as the Canon to the Ordinary of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. In that position I was greatly involved in clergy matters and enjoyed assisting clergy in their ministry. I also look forward to continuing my responsibilities with the St. John Vianney Community.”
The Ordinariate’s leadership also includes Rev. R. Scott Hurd, Vicar General, and Margaret Chalmers, JCD, chancellor. The Catholic Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter was established on January 1, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI for Anglican groups and clergy in the United States seeking to become Catholic while retaining elements of their Anglican heritage. The Ordinariate is equivalent to a diocese, though national in scope, and is based in Houston, Texas. Only three ordinariates exist in the world, in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
Rev. Charles Hough, III, 57, was an Episcopal priest for 31 years, including 18 years as Canon to the Ordinary of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth before he stepped down in September 2011 to become Catholic. A graduate of the University of Texas and Nashotah House Seminary, he was rector of two parishes in the Fort Worth area from 1982 to 1993. He is pastor of the St. John Vianney Catholic Ordinariate Community, which meets at St. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Granbury (stjohnvianneycleburne.com). He and his wife, Marilyn, have two children and two grandchildren.
About Fr Stephen Smuts
Welcome Fr. Hough. May your Ordinariate prosper in Christ Jesus.
Congratulations and welcome, Fr. Hough! May God be with you and help you in your task!
There is something very worrying about the Ordinariates..the disproportionate number of clergy. There are more ordinations than baptisms..just as in my catholic diocese there are more funerals than baptisms!
What a truly stupid comment.
Hey, now. The person can worry. But for the most part, I find this to be a good thing. We Catholics prayed for an increase of vocations, and it is answered.
1. As the number of priests at the start was 1 (+1 on a loan) in the US and 3 in the UK, why do you find high number of ordinations in the initial phase strange?
And how do you know how many baptisms have been celebrated? Photos from several such events have been even posted on social networks.
Anyway, only comparison with the number of confirmations (not baptisms) could be meaningful in the initial period, as an indicator of the lay to clergy ratio.
2. IMHO, the reasons for some initial focus on priests is twofold: (i) The Ordinariate project is intended for years, so solid and broad foundations are laid down. Having a considerable number of priests, you are well positioned to accomodate further waves of people leaving CofE/TEC over Synod/GC developments. What would you do with lay groups without priests? This also, especially in the US, enables evangelisation-based approach. How could you reach out for people without a priest? (ii) For priests it is much more difficult to join the Ordinariate and leave everything behind, so it is just and right to “deal” with them on a priority basis.
3. Personally, I find the great response among Anglican priests on both sides of the pond as a sign that Holy Spirit really has some serious plan for the Ordinariates, which we will fully see in the future (otherwise, why would He inspire them to join?). And as I read individual stories, I honestly think that the Catholic Church really gets kind of “creme de la creme” with the Ordinariate clergy (brave, humble and dedicated servants of God),
You have to be careful with statistics. In the Derby diocese there were more ordinations than confirmations!